The Senate Standing Committee on Commerce expressed annoyance with the Ministry of Commerce over stagnant export proceeds of Pakistan in the last decade and sought the reasons for the country lagging against comparable countries of the region.
The committee chaired by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada showed concerns over the low exports from the country in the region and sought reasons from the Commerce Ministry in the next meeting.
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Responding to the queries of the Committee members, Advisor on Commerce, Razzaq Dawood, said that when the incumbent government took over, the industries in Pakistan faced low production or were facing closures. As a result, the imports were on the rise, and exports continued to drop.
He said the ministry of commerce formulated a strategic policy and presented it to Prime Minister Imran Khan. Under the proposed policy, the range of export items was increased, he said. Moreover, adding that new products were being brought forward instead of the traditional ones.
Dawood further said that attention has been paid to other areas, including food processing, IT, pharmacy, and engineering.
Deputy Chairman of the upper house, Senator Mirza Mohammad Afridi, said that the issue of water-related to rice export also needs to be resolved, which should be taken seriously.
He also suggested the Commerce authorities prepare a comprehensive report in collaboration with the Agricultural University. Expressing concern that water requirement would be too much for rice production, he said that water could become a problem for us in the coming days.
Senator Saleem Mandviwala raised the issue that exports from Pakistan remained at the level of 2013 at $24 billion in the current fiscal year. “We are also lagging behind Bangladesh and Vietnam. Bangladesh’s exports have reached $50 billion and Vietnam’s exports have reached $100 billion at present,” he further said.
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Senator Khanzada directed the Commerce Ministry to state the reasons as to why our exports are not increasing as compared to other developing countries.
The committee also directed the Commerce Ministry to evaluate the performance of commercial attaché on regular basis and organize exhibitions abroad to showcase Pakistani products to increase its exports.
Secretary Commerce, Saleh Farooqi, briefed the committee on the performance of the ministry. He said Pakistan’s exports on average stood at $2 billion per month this year. He said exports fell drastically last year due to COVID-19.
However, Mr. Farooqi announced that the export results would be good for June.
On the policy issues, he said that a summary of the strategic trade policy framework 2021-25 is pending with the Economic Coordination Committee for approval. He further said that the draft of the domestic commerce policy is in the final stages.
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The secretary further said that the IT policy and export policy have also been prepared. He said that e-commerce and National Tariff Policy have been approved by the cabinet. Export Policy Order and Import Policy Order have also been approved while Geographical Indications Act 2020 is being implemented.
Secretary commerce also informed the committee that basmati rice was also being grown in different districts of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
